LONDON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Britain's opposition Labour Party chose former Energy Secretary Ed Miliband as its new leader on Saturday as he beat his brother David in a cliffhanger vote.
Here is reaction to his election:
-- Charlie Whelan, political director of union UNITE (to BBC television)
'The first thing that Ed needs to do is recognise that Labour actually lost the last election. He has to address that. Why did millions of skilled working class people desert the Labour Party? ... I think the party stopped listening for a few years and I think he is listening and he is tuned in to what the people want.
'I think one thing he will do is make Ed Balls his shadow chancellor...he has taken the fight to the Conservatives and it's very important to get the economic policy right that's the number one thing.
'Obviously there need to be some sort of cuts, but to cut everything ruthlessly and enjoy it, as the Tories clearly are, that is going to be the difference.'
-- Ed Balls, leadership candidate and former education minister (to BBC television):
'We are going to unite around Ed. I hope we are not going to hear noises after the next 48 hours. Ed Miliband is our leader. I'm backing him, I'm sure everybody else wants to do that as well. He'll be very good for the country.'
-- Tessa Jowell, former Labour cabinet minister, (to Sky News):
'I was supporting David very strongly, so obviously, personally, I feel disappointment.
'But the point is that it has been a long campaign, all the candidates have engaged with a huge number of Labour Party members, and the important thing is ... everybody in the hall, whoever they voted for, will rally behind Ed as the new leader of the Labour Party.'
-- British Prime Minister David Cameron:
'Congratulations to Ed Miliband. I was leader of the opposition for four years and know what a demanding but important job it is. I wish him and his family well.'
-- Sayeeda Warsi, Conservative Party chair
'For the past five months, all we've heard from Labour is knee-jerk opposition to our plans to tackle the deficit. Now is the time for Mr Miliband to tell us what he'd do instead. He promised us a Labour spending plan before the spending review, now we'd all like to see it.
'The fact that Ed Miliband owes his position to the votes of the unions does not bode well. At the moment this looks like a great leap backwards for the Labour Party.'
-- Lib Dem Secretary of State for Scotland Michael Moore:
'I hope that he will use his new job to bring forward constructive suggestions to reduce the record deficit that we inherited from the Labour government.'
-- Adam Marshall, director of policy, the British Chambers of Commerce:
'We urge Ed Miliband to make reconnecting with business, both locally and nationally, a key priority of his early months in office.
'Economic recovery depends on improving business confidence, and making it easier -- not harder -- for companies to take new people on.'
-- John Sauven, Executive Director of Greenpeace:
'We have high hopes that the man who brought an end to the era of coal-fired power stations with unlimited emissions will be the right man to hold Cameron's 'greenest government ever' to their promises.'
(Reporting by Stefano Ambrogi; Editing by Michael Roddy) Keywords: BRITAIN MILIBAND/REACTION (stefano.ambrogi@reuters.com +44 20 7542 8167; Reuters Messaging: stefano.ambrogi.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Here is reaction to his election:
-- Charlie Whelan, political director of union UNITE (to BBC television)
'The first thing that Ed needs to do is recognise that Labour actually lost the last election. He has to address that. Why did millions of skilled working class people desert the Labour Party? ... I think the party stopped listening for a few years and I think he is listening and he is tuned in to what the people want.
'I think one thing he will do is make Ed Balls his shadow chancellor...he has taken the fight to the Conservatives and it's very important to get the economic policy right that's the number one thing.
'Obviously there need to be some sort of cuts, but to cut everything ruthlessly and enjoy it, as the Tories clearly are, that is going to be the difference.'
-- Ed Balls, leadership candidate and former education minister (to BBC television):
'We are going to unite around Ed. I hope we are not going to hear noises after the next 48 hours. Ed Miliband is our leader. I'm backing him, I'm sure everybody else wants to do that as well. He'll be very good for the country.'
-- Tessa Jowell, former Labour cabinet minister, (to Sky News):
'I was supporting David very strongly, so obviously, personally, I feel disappointment.
'But the point is that it has been a long campaign, all the candidates have engaged with a huge number of Labour Party members, and the important thing is ... everybody in the hall, whoever they voted for, will rally behind Ed as the new leader of the Labour Party.'
-- British Prime Minister David Cameron:
'Congratulations to Ed Miliband. I was leader of the opposition for four years and know what a demanding but important job it is. I wish him and his family well.'
-- Sayeeda Warsi, Conservative Party chair
'For the past five months, all we've heard from Labour is knee-jerk opposition to our plans to tackle the deficit. Now is the time for Mr Miliband to tell us what he'd do instead. He promised us a Labour spending plan before the spending review, now we'd all like to see it.
'The fact that Ed Miliband owes his position to the votes of the unions does not bode well. At the moment this looks like a great leap backwards for the Labour Party.'
-- Lib Dem Secretary of State for Scotland Michael Moore:
'I hope that he will use his new job to bring forward constructive suggestions to reduce the record deficit that we inherited from the Labour government.'
-- Adam Marshall, director of policy, the British Chambers of Commerce:
'We urge Ed Miliband to make reconnecting with business, both locally and nationally, a key priority of his early months in office.
'Economic recovery depends on improving business confidence, and making it easier -- not harder -- for companies to take new people on.'
-- John Sauven, Executive Director of Greenpeace:
'We have high hopes that the man who brought an end to the era of coal-fired power stations with unlimited emissions will be the right man to hold Cameron's 'greenest government ever' to their promises.'
(Reporting by Stefano Ambrogi; Editing by Michael Roddy) Keywords: BRITAIN MILIBAND/REACTION (stefano.ambrogi@reuters.com +44 20 7542 8167; Reuters Messaging: stefano.ambrogi.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.